Magnetic holder codable conveying system



March 10, 1970 E. c. GILDEHAUS 3,499,521

MAGNETIC HOLDER CODABLE CONVEYING SYSTEM Filed Feb. 20, 1968 INVENTOR EVERETT C. GILDEHAUS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,499,521 MAGNETIC HOLDER CODABLE CONVEYING SYSTEM Everett C. Gildehaus, Huntington Beach, Caliii, assignor to Aerojet-General Corporation, El Monte, Califl, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 706,925 Int. Cl. B65g 43/08 US. Cl. 198-38 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The prior art in this field is highly developed and codable conveying systems have been complex and expensive. The present invention has for one object to furnish a simple, rugged and exceedingly low cost system for selective delivery. Other objects and features will be apparent from the disclosure herein.

Briefly, the invention involves a conventional overhead conveyor comprising a continuously traveling chain or belt from which are suspended a plurality of carrier plates. The plates are apertured or slotted in a pattern. An article holder having a magnet can adhere to the plate in a particular coded location thereon depending on selective insertion of locator fingers of the holder into a pair of apertures at that location on the plate. Theholder has a cross arm extending beyond the plate edge and a spring clamp for carrying papers, documents, or the like. A plurality of stations are disposed along the conveyor line which have trip bars differentially disposed at respective positions to effect coding so that if a crossarm is moving in a path to engage a trip bar at a selected station the holder will be dislodged from the carrier plate and fall into a basket or tray at that station.

At detailed description of the invention now follows in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the essential components of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view to an enlarged scale showing details of the carrier plate and trip bar;

FIGURE 3 is a section through 3-3 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is an elevation of a holding means showing the magnet, cross arm and spring clamp in relation to the carrier plate.

Referring to the drawing, a conventional conveying means is disclosed, comprising a tube 13 interiorally of which is a continuously traveling belt or chain 16 having suspension hooks or bars 20at spaced intervals. It will be understood that the structure thus far described is commercially obtainable and quite conventional, the bar 20 extending through a longitudinal slot of tube 13, and tube 13 may be formed in a loop, the traveling member 16 being driven by an electric motor or the like (not shown).

Tube 13 is suspended as by a bracket 23 welded to a frame 26 having vertical legs such as 29 which may be fixed to a bench or table (not shown), such frame representing one station at which articles are to be delivered, there being any desired number of such stations.

Alternatively, tube 13 may be suspended by ceiling hangers (not shown) and the frame 26 carried by the tubing.

The bars 20 are fastened to respective flanged plates 33 of magnetic material, such as steel, spaced and motivated in the arrow direction so as to pass in sequence through legs 29 of a series of stations such as shown. A receptacle 36 at each station is secured between from legs 29. The side flanges 39 of holder plate 33 slidingly engage guides such as 41 carried by the frame 26 at each such station.

Each plate 33 is coded with apertures in a pattern such that three apertures are aligned on each of a plurality of levels. The apertures are numbered in pairs wherein an intermediate aperture of each group of three aligned apertures constitutes an aperture of each pair. The pairs are numbered as 1, 2, etc. Thus, pair #1 constitutes a coded location on the plate for station #1 (not shown) and consists of aperttures a and b; coded location #2 consists of apertures b and 0, etc. The numerals thus correspond to respective stations; for example, referring to FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2, it will be noted that a fixed trip bar 42 is located on a level with the aperture pairs 9 and 10. The station shown in FIGURE 1 is station #10 since it is at that station that bar 42 will engage a cross arm 45 magnetically heldon plate 33 in coded position #10, and extending therebeyond as shown. Such engagement will release or dislodge the cross arm so that it will drop, along with certain components to be described, together with a carried article such as a paper or document 48 into receptacle 36.

In a similar manner, the aperture pair constituting coded location #9 on plate 33 will serve to locate a cross arm 45 to engage the fixed trip bar 42' at station #42 at station #9 (not shown). The cross arms 45 or 45' extend beyond the respective edges of plates 33 so as to engage a trip bar on one side or the other, as will be apparent from consideration of the drawing.

In summation of the above, each plate 33 is coded by means of apertures wherein each pair of apertures corresponds to a respective station and wherein at each station a trip bar such as 42 or 42' is located at the proper level and at the proper side of the path of movement of the plates so as to release or dislodge an article programmed or coded for delivery to any such station depending upon whether a cross arm is engaged at the left or the right of the carrying plate 33.

For purposes of versatility the trip bars 42 and 42' can be adjustably secured as by any suitable bracket and wing nut structure 52 to frame 26, whence any frame and tray can be set up as a station and coded for the specific location by adjustment of the trip bar.

The holder device comprises in addition to the cross arm 45 (or 45) a ceramic disc magnet 55 secured as by a rivet 58 to the cross arm and secured to the cross arm as by Welding are a pair of angle members 60 which provide parallel locator fingers 61 spaced to equal the spacing between aperture centers so as to protrude readily therethrough thus effecting a locator device for coding.

Also carried by the magnet and cross arm is a conventional spring-type paper clamp 62 having one lever through which the rivet 58 can pass for securement, leaving the other lever 65 free for manually pressing to open the clamp for insertion of papers or other articles. It will be apparent that the apertures do not have a binding effect on fingers 61 so that there is no impediment to dislodging a holder means upon engagement of a cross arm with a differentially disposed, i.e., coded, trip bar 42. However, the apertures are located with suflicient precision and sufficiently precisely dimensioned so as to insure accuracy of the coded position of any cross arm for engagement with a correspondingly located trip bar.

In use, the plates 33 move at a pace such that an operator can readily insert fingers 61 of a holder device into the apertures of any coded position, selecting the code number printed on the plate which corresponds to the number of the station at which he wants delivery to be made. It is, of course, necessary to distinguish in the selection of a holder device for left or right engagement, odd numbered stations effecting engagement at the left and even numbered stations at the right. Accordingly, lefts and rights of holder devices are furnished with the system. Alternatively, holder means can be made so that the cross arm can be rotated 180 with respect to the clamp. In the latter case, the operator would merely orient the cross arm for engagement at the desired edge of the carrier plate.

It will be appreciated that the fingers 61 bear on the bottom edges of the apertures and therefore carry virtually the total load of articles in the clamp, very little horizontal pull being required of the magnets. Accordingly, the system can carry packages of appreciable weight provided mechanical principles are observed wherein the center of gravity of such package is generally co-planar with and below the carrier plate or at least not so far distant as to effect a horizontal force component greater than the magnet strength.

It is claimed:

1. A conveying system for delivering articles at a selected station comprising a conveyor means having at least one carrier comprised of magnetic material to be motivated past a plurality of discharge stations by said conveyor means; an article holder means; locator means for disposing said holder means at one of a plurality of locations on said carrier, each of said locations corresponding to a different discharge station; said holder means comprising a magnetic material adherable to said carrier and operative to temporarily secure said holder means thereto; and release means for said stations differently disposed to dislodge said holder means from said carrier at any selected station by engaging said holder means.

2. A conveying system as set forth in claim 1, said carrier comprising a plate of magnetic material having selectively designated locations thereon for attachment of said holder means; said locations being coded to correspond to respective stations.

3. A conveying system as set forth in claim 2, said holder means comprising a magnet attachable to said carrier.

4. A conveying system as set forth in claim 3, a cross arm attached to said magnet adapted to be positioned at a particular coded position and to extend beyond an edge of said plate when said magnet is attached thereto at a coded selected location, to engage a release means.

5. A conveying system as set forth in claim 4, said release means comprising a trip bar at each station disposed in a coded position to engage an extending portion of said cross arm on either side of the path of travel of said carrier.

6. A conveying system as set forth in claim 2, the coded locations of said plate being provided with aperture means and said holder means being provided with a locator device protrudable into said aperture means for coded positioning of said holder.

7. A conveying system as set forth in claim 6, said aperture means having'lower edges effecting load carrying support for said locator device and means secured to said locator device for securing an article to said holder' means whereby the weight of said article is substantially borne by said edges of said apertures.

8.'A conveying system as set forth in claim 3, said holder means comprising a magnet having a cross arm and an article holding clamp, and having a locator device comprising fingers extending normal to said cross arm; said coded areas on said plate being designated by aperture means in coded locations whereby said fingers may be positioned in selected aperture means for codably positioning said holder means.

9. A conveyingsystem as set forth in claim 8, wherein said locator device comprises a pair of parallel spaced fingers and said aperture means comprises three alinged apertures having spacing such that said fingers can be slidably received in either end aperture and a central aperture.

References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,881,899 10/1932 Olson 198-38 2,862,601 12/195 Littwin etal 198-41XR 3,016,125 1/1962 Lucas l9838 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,076,570 2/1960 Germany.

5 GERALD M. FORLEN ZA, Primary Examiner F. E. WERNER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

